.......Forums are used to exchange ideas and opinions. Your attitude is misplaced in this exchange IMO.

Lipets, letís look at this statement from a logical standpoint for a moment. You seem to be saying that, by definition, a forum is a place where all ideas and opinions can be freely exchanged. And yet, you wish to exclude Alanís opinion on this particular point of view? The logic doesnít follow.

Letís look at this from a practical point of view, taken as a purely hypothetical for a moment. The United States Constitution guarantees every American has the right to free speech. Everybody would agree to that. There are a couple of really big exceptions to that right. You canít threaten people is one exception. You canít defame someone, either. There are other exceptions, some of more notable ones have been enacted in the political arena in the last few years, but I digress, as they say.

The point here is that we (THE UNPAID) staff donít have time to referee disputes between the members and the vendors here. Itís simply not practical (and the legality of such an endeavour is very much in question). As others have said above, we have no way discerning right from wrong from a distance. That is for others to decide.

Don't tell people to quit their bellyaching, that attitude is wrong a forum! Moreover, in the context of this thread.

Forums are used to exchange ideas and opinions. Your attitude is misplaced in this exchange IMO.

Hi Lippets; I am just a older person with lot of experience. Which means,
I did get the proverbial "shaft" more than once, but it did not take me very long to learn. More often than not, disputes tend to be resolved if they are handled in a professional manner. Each transaction you make, you should ask what is the final cost involved. Then, you have a choice to, or not to, complete the transaction. Shipping costs money because people who do that, need to get paid as well. Therefore, the consumer who needs it must bear the burden. It is very difficult in today's competitive market for a vendor to cover the shipping costs because it can at times, cut the profit margin in half.
In business, there must be a set profit margin to survive. Pending the form, size and weight, charges differ. Not knowing the circumstances or details of your argument, it is impossible for anyone to draw any conclusions, nor form a negative opinion based on your story. This is why I fail to see any significance here.

However, I am getting dizzy from reading this post of insignificant issue, about something, that was about to happen. In the mean time let us enjoy the positive, educational threads as it was meant to be. I deal with vendors every day in thousands of dollars for past forty some years, never had a unresolved issue. It pays to be nice! Thanks, "Boatdoc"

There's also numerous threads about Airstream's quality ( or should we say, lack thereof?)
Would Airstream ( the major recipient of $$ from forum members) be considered a vendor? Many have posted their negative as well as positive experiences with Airstream, their dealers and related issues.

Individuals deal with individuals very differently. Where I might not get a warm and fuzzy about a dealer the person right beside me might be delighted with the service they are getting. It's just too easy for someone with a beef to start leveraging the forum when it's not appropriate. My comment is, if you are happy with vendor and someone asks let them know - and silence would be pretty clear that you don't support that vendor. I just do not see a need for this forum to be used as a rating service for vendors. It's unfair to ask the volunteer moderators to take mediation on top of what they already provide, and as always there are at least two sides to every situation. As is typical the silent majority are almost always the ones who are comfortable with the way things are now. This is about the best managed forum I've yet encountered and I'd sure hate to see it turn into a rant session like many of the others I've crossed.
Barry

Safaru57- thanks for that comment.
I think if someone want to rate vendors, they could start an RV Vendor Rating Forum.
The fact that 600 people read this thread and only a handful participated in it should say how much there is real support for the idea of that issue being hashed around here.